The invention relates to implantable medical devices for the control of fluid flow through a body host canal or vessel, such as an urethra.
Incontinence is a condition wherein persons lose control over their voluntary, urinary function. The condition can arise from various causes. These causes include a variety of related and unrelated diseases, aging, and deterioration of the voluntary urethra sphincter muscle. The cost and inconvenience to persons suffering from this condition are great. Several remedies exist that are known in the prior art. Among these, the most common are surgical corrections (minor and major), drugs, and devices which serve to capture discharges (i.e., xe2x80x9ccapturexe2x80x9d or diaper systems). Another solution is to place a patch over the urinary orifice to prevent unwanted discharge. Possibly, the most effective solution to date is the use of artificial sphincters. These devices are surgically installed and are hydraulically or pneumatically driven, operating by inflation of ballasts to suppress fluid flow. However, control of these devices is not always easy and is often inconvenient. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus to control the urinary function.
The present invention overcomes and alleviates the above-mentioned drawbacks and disadvantages in the art through the discovery of novel implantable body fluid flow control devices for the control of fluid flow through a host body canal or vessels, such as an urethra.
Generally speaking, and in accordance with the invention, an implantable apparatus for controlling fluid flow within a host body comprises (1) a constricting member for reducing fluid flow within a body canal when in a closed position, (2) a biasing member for biasing the constricting member against the body canal, (3) a pulling member for countering the force exerted by the biasing member such that when activated the constricting member is forced away from the closed position so as to allow increased fluid flow within the body canal, and (4) an activating member for activating the pulling member.
The object and advantages of the implantable fluid flow control devices of the present invention permit implantation and use without severing the canal or vessel to be constricted. Moreover, because trauma is minimized with respect to the canal or vessel, and the devices of the present invention are relatively small, lightweight and made of corrosion-resistant material, such as durable plastics or stainless steel, the devices are suitable for use for extended period of time to control fluid flow through numerous types of vessels to control, for example, urination, ejaculation, nutrition absorption, obesity, etc.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of the embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompany Figs. It should therefore be understood that the particular embodiments illustrating the present invention are exemplary only and not to be regarded as limitations of the present invention.